Former Australia captain Steve Waugh likened the Test rivalry between his country and India for the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy to that for the Ashes against the Englishmen.
The 'Ashes' is the oldest rivalry in cricket, having got its name out of an obituary satirically published by a British newspaper, The Sporting Times.
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The obituary, released just after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, the visitors' first win on English soil, stated that English cricket had died, and "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".
On the other hand, while India and Australia have been facing each other in official Test matches since 1948, the name 'Border-Gavaskar Trophy' was given to the silverware they play for in 1996 on two of the countries' greatest batsmen in Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar.
The rivalry has gone from strength to strength, enthralling cricket lovers with some of the finest matches ever played in the history of the game.
"The Border-Gavaskar trophy is equivalent to the Ashes. It shows the growing competition between the two countries. Tied Test (1986) is the greatest game I have ever played. Kolkata Test (2001) loss was memorable," said Waugh in a virtual interaction while participating in India Global Week 2020.
Waugh, who couldn't quite conquer his 'final frontier' in 2001, however, loved the experience of playing in India. "India was interesting," he said. "I couldn't stop looking out of the window. India was fascinating and I began to fall in love with the place. Great connections through cricket."
The love affair is so deep that Waugh is planning to launch a book on why cricket is not just a sport but a way of life in India.
"Producing this book could bring India and Australia together," he said. "We are about to finalise the book. You see amazing things about India, its diversity and passion for cricket."
"I want to produce a book that will surprise people about India - through pictures - showcase India, and that's my latest project, trying to capture why cricket is a religion in India," Waugh added.
Australia and India will be up against each other once again for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year, when Team India travels down under for another four-Test rubber, starting December 3 in Brisbane.
Adelaide will host the second Test from December 11-15, with Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 3-7) being the venues for the other two games.
The trophy lies with India currently after its historic series win in Australia in the 2018-19 season.
(Inputs from ANI)
